Election transparency resources
Election transparency resources exist to help citizens keep elections transparent and accountable.
Campaign finance
Campaign finance is the way that bids for office are funded. Campaign costs include travel for candidates and the cost running events.
State and local
The following information is from the National Conference on State Legislatures.
States commonly place limits on contributions to candidates from various sources, and also on contributions to political action committees (PACs) and political parties. Just four states - Missouri, Oregon, Utah and Virginia - place no limits on contributions at all.[1] Another seven states - Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Texas - have minimal contribution limits. These states limit or prohibit contributions by corporations and unions to candidates, but leave contributions from all other sources unlimited.[1] In the remaining 39 states, contributions to candidates from individuals, political parties, PACs, corporations and unions are typically limited or, in the case of corporations and unions, prohibited outright.[1]
At least 14 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Tennessee and Washington) index their contribution limits. All adjust their limits periodically according to the Consumer Price Index.[1]
Other common limitations are those placed on contributions to PACs and parties, limitations or prohibitions on contributions during the legislative session, and limitations on cash contributions and those made by minors.
See State contribution limits to candidates 2011-2012.
Federal
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.[2] Contributions made from the treasuries of corporations, labor organizations and national banks are prohibited.[3]
Certain contribution limits are adjusted for inflation on odd numbered years.[4] These boards, agencies, and divisions enforce the states elections laws, including whether or not felons can vote, what is considered "overvoting" and "undervoting," and enforce disclosure requirements for candidates running for office.
| To each candidate or candidate committee per election | To national party committee per calendar year | To state, district & local party committee per calendar year | To any other political committee per calendar year | Special Limits | |
| Individual may give | $2,500 | $30,800 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $117,000 overall biennial limit: $46,200* to all candidates; $70,800* to all PACs and parties |
| National Party Committee may give | $5,000 | No limit | No limit | $5,000 | $43,100 to Senate candidate per campaign |
| State, District & Local | $5,000 (combined limit) | No limit | No limit | $5,000 (combined limit) | No limit |
| PAC (multicandidate) may give | $5,000 | $15,000 | $5,000 (combined limit) | $5,000 | No limit |
| PAC (not multicandidate) may give | $2,500 | $30,800 | $10,000 (combined limit) | $5,000 | No limit |
| Authorized Campaign Committee may give | $2,000 | No limit | No limit | $5,000 | No limit |
Election monitoring
State elections are overseen by state elections boards which are often included in the office of the Secretary of State.
| State | Election Commission or Board | Website |
| Alabama | Alabama Secretary of State, Elections Division | http://www.sos.state.al.us/Elections/Default.aspx |
| Alaska | Alaska Division of Elections | http://www.elections.alaska.gov/ |
| Arizona | Arizona Secretary of State, Elections | http://www.azsos.gov/election/ |
| Arkansas | Arkansas Secretary of State, Elections Division | http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/elections/Pages/default.aspx |
| California | California Secretary of State Elections Division | http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ |
| Colorado | Colorado Secretary of State | http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/ |
| Connecticut | Secretary of State - Connecticut Election Services Division | |
| Delaware | Commissioner of Elections for the State of Delaware | http://elections.delaware.gov/ |
| District of Columbia | District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics | https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://dcboee.us/ |
| Florida | Florida Division of Elections | http://election.dos.state.fl.us/campaign-finance/cam-finance-index.shtml |
| Georgia | Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division | http://www.sos.ga.gov/Elections/ |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Office of Elections | http://hawaii.gov/elections |
| Idaho | Idaho Secretary of State Election Division | http://www.sos.idaho.gov/elect/eleindex.htm |
| Illinois | Illinois State Board of Elections | http://www.elections.il.gov/ |
| Indiana | Indiana Secretary of State, Election Commission | http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/ |
| Iowa | Iowa Secretary of State | http://sos.iowa.gov/ |
| Kansas | Kansas Secretary of State | http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections.html |
| Kentucky | Kentucky State Board of Elections | http://elect.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Secretary of State Elections Division | http://www.sos.la.gov/tabid/68/default.aspx |
| Maine | Maine Division of Elections | http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/ |
| Maryland | Maryland State Board of Elections | http://www.elections.state.md.us/campaign_finance_database/index.html (dead link) |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Elections Division | http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/ |
| Michigan | Michigan Secretary of State | http://www.michigan.gov/sos |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Secretary of State Election Division | http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=4 |
| Mississippi | Mississippi Secretary of State, Elections Division | http://www.sos.ms.gov/elections.aspx |
| Missouri | Missouri Secretary of State | http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/ |
| Montana | Montana Secretary of State | http://sos.mt.gov/elections/ |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Secretary of State | http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/ |
| Nevada | Nevada Elections Division | http://nvsos.gov/index.aspx?page=3 |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire Department of State, Elections Division | http://sos.nh.gov/Elections.aspx |
| New Jersey | New Jersey Department of State - Division of Elections | http://nj.gov/state/elections/index.html |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Secretary of State, Bureau of Elections | http://www.sos.state.nm.us/Divisions.aspx |
| New York | New York State Board of Elections | http://www.elections.ny.gov/ |
| North Carolina | North Carolina State Board of Elections | http://www.ncsbe.gov/ |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Secretary of State, Elections Division | http://www.nd.gov/sos/electvote/ |
| Ohio | Ohio Secretary of State | http://www.sos.state.oh.us/elections.aspx |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma State Election Board | http://www.ok.gov/elections/ |
| Oregon | Oregon Secretary of State | |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Department of State | |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Elections Division | |
| South Carolina | South Carolina State Election Commission | |
| South Dakota | South Dakota Secretary of State | |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Department of State | |
| Texas | Texas Elections Division | |
| Utah | Utah Elections Office | |
| Vermont | Vermont Secretary of State | |
| Virginia | ||
| Washington | Washington Secretary of State | |
| West Virginia | West Virginia State Elections Commission | |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin Legislature | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Secretary of State | |
See also
- State election agencies
- Election records and transparent elections
- Elections and records
- Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
- Association of Election Commission Officials of Illinois
External links
- United States Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) 2010 biennial Election Administration and Voting Survey
- Michigan's Elections System Structure Overview
Campaign finance
- State Campaign Finance laws
- Wikipedia-Campaign finance reform in the United States
- ACLU Campaign Finance Reform
- Occupy Wall Street: Is campaign-finance reform the answer?
- Campaign Contribution Limits Increase for 2012 Election Cycle
- Campaign Expenditures in the United States Series
- OpenSecrets political contributions in all 50 states.
Footnotes
